Bioinformatics

News Releases

Public Release: 10-Jul-2015 ScienceCell machinery wears complex coat
Researchers at EMBL Heidelberg have produced detailed images of the intricate protein-coats that surround trafficking vesicles -- the 'transport pods' that move material around within biological cells.
German Research Foundation

Public Release: 9-Jul-2015 Cell ReportsNew genomic analysis identifies recurrent fusion genes in gastric cancers
Studying the gastric cancers of 15 Southeast Asian patients, researchers at The Jackson Laboratory, the Genome Institute of Singapore and other institutions identified five recurrent fusion genes, one of which appears to lead to cellular changes involved in acute gastritis and cancer.
The Agency for Science Technology and Research in Singapore, Translational Clinical Research Flagship Program, Singapore Gastric Cancer Consortium, Genome Institute of Singapore, National Medical Research Council of Singapore, and others

Public Release: 9-Jul-2015 BMC Genomics'Jumping genes' may drive esophageal cancer
Cancer Research UK scientists have found that 'jumping genes' may add to the genetic chaos behind more than three-quarters of esophageal cancer cases.

Public Release: 8-Jul-2015 Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesIf you look old on the outside, you're probably old on the inside
An international research team has found a way to measure the aging process in young adults. Using multiple biomarkers, they found wide differences in biological age and rate of aging. Among 38-year-olds, biological age ranged from under 30 to nearly 60 years old. The researchers asked undergraduates to assess facial photos of study participants and rate their ages. Participants who were biologically older on the inside also appeared older to the college students.
New Zealand Health Research Council, NIH/National Institute on Aging, UK Medical Research Council, Jacobs Foundation, Yad Hanadiv Rothschild Foundation

Public Release: 7-Jul-2015 PLOS ONEScientists develop free, online genetic research tool
For most genetic scientists, the lack of access to computer servers and programs capable of quickly handling vast amounts of data can hinder genetic advancements. Now, a group of scientists at the University of Missouri has introduced a game changer in the world of biological research. The online, free service, RNAMiner, has been developed to handle large datasets which could lead to faster results in the study of plant and animal genomics.
National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation

Public Release: 7-Jul-2015 PLOS BiologyBiggest beast in big data forest? One field's astonishing growth is 'genomical!'
Who's about to become the biggest beast in the big data forest? A group of computing experts have arrived at an answer. It's not You Tube or Twitter, social media sites that gobble up awesome quantities of bandwidth, and it's not astronomy or particle physics. No, the alpha beast in the big data forest is genomics -- a science that didn't exist 15 years ago and just beginning to break out from the field.

Public Release: 7-Jul-2015 eLifeASU researcher disputes claim that humans can distinguish 1 trillion odors
An Arizona State University researcher is disputing recent findings that the human nose is capable of distinguishing at least 1 trillion odors. Rick Gerkin says the data used in a 2014 study published in Science does not support this claim. Gerkin says this is important because those findings are already making their way into neuroscience textbooks, misinforming up-and-coming investigators and cutting off potentially productive lines of research that do not adhere to those findings.

Public Release: 6-Jul-2015 ThyroidPitt scientists lead consensus guidelines for thyroid cancer molecular tests
University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute scientists recently led a panel of experts in revising national guidelines for thyroid cancer testing to reflect newly available tests that better incorporate personalized medicine into diagnosing the condition. Their clinical explanation for when to use and how to interpret thyroid cancer tests is published in the July issue of the scientific journal Thyroid.

Public Release: 6-Jul-2015 Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesKiller sea snail a target for new drugs
University of Queensland pain treatment researchers have discovered thousands of new peptide toxins hidden deep within the venom of just one type of Queensland cone snail.
Researchers hope the new molecules will be promising leads for new drugs to treat pain and cancer.
National Health and Medical Research Council

Public Release: 5-Jul-2015 Cell ReportsHow the mammoth got its wool: Genetic changes are identified
Evolutionary change in a gene resurrected in the lab from the extinct woolly mammoth altered the gene's temperature sensitivity and likely was part of a suite of adaptations that allowed the mammoth to survive in harsh arctic environments, new research reveals.
National Science Foundation

Public Release: 2-Jul-2015
American Society of Human Genetics 2015 Annual MeetingASHG honors Leonid Kruglyak with Curt Stern Award
ASHG has named Leonid Kruglyak, Ph.D., Professor of Human Genetics and Professor of Biological Chemistry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, as the 2015 recipient of the Curt Stern Award.

Public Release: 1-Jul-2015 PLOS Computational BiologyFine tuning in the brain
From a hodgepodge to well-tuned networks -- Freiburg researchers develop a computer model to explain how nerve cell connections form in the visual cortex.

Public Release: 30-Jun-2015 Journal of NutritionUGA researcher leads comprehensive international study on folate
A University of Georgia researcher is lead author on an international paper on folate biomarkers as part of an initiative to provide evidence-based guidance for the global nutrition and public health community.
UGA's Lynn Bailey led a comprehensive study on folate, an essential B vitamin required for DNA synthesis and normal growth and development. The paper, published in the Journal of Nutrition, represents a consensus of the top folate scientists globally.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, PepsiCo, NIH Division of Nutrition Research Coordination, NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, NIH/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Public Release: 30-Jun-2015 PLOS ONEWomen's faces get redder at ovulation, but human eyes can't pick up on it
Past research shows men find female faces more attractive at peak fertility. A new study shows an increased redness of women's face skin at the most fertile point of ovulatory cycle, but just under the threshold for detectability, ruling out skin coloration as a driver of the attractiveness effect.

Public Release: 29-Jun-2015 Journal of Biomedical InformaticsNew role for Twitter: Early warning system for bad drug interactions
Vermont scientists have invented a new technique for discovering potentially dangerous drug interactions and unknown side-effects -- before they show up in medical databases like PubMed -- by searching millions of tweets on Twitter.
National Science Foundation

Public Release: 29-Jun-2015 PLOS ONEThe new detection method for a key drug resistant hepatitis C virus mutation
A rapid, sensitive, and accurate method to detect drug resistant hepatitis C virus (HCV) mutants has been developed. Researchers at Hiroshima University established a system and evaluate the proportion of patients harboring this mutation prior to treatment. This new system for detecting mutant strains may provide important pre-treatment information valuable not only for treatment decisions but also for prediction of disease progression in HCV genotype 1b patients.
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology

Public Release: 29-Jun-2015 Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesNew family of small RNAs boosts cell proliferation in cancer
Rather than cellular trash, half of a transfer RNA (tRNA) molecule appears to actively spur cell proliferation in breast and prostate cancers, suggesting a new role for tRNA and a possible target for a new class of therapy.

Public Release: 28-Jun-2015 Molecular & Cellular ProteomicsSAPH-ire helps scientists prioritize protein modification research
Researchers have developed a new informatics technology that analyzes existing data repositories of protein modifications and 3-D protein structures to help scientists identify and target research on 'hotspots' most likely to be important for biological function.
National Institutes of Health, NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Public Release: 26-Jun-2015 Nature CommunicationsHigh-performance microscope displays pores in the cell nucleus with greater precision
The transportation of certain molecules into and out of the cell nucleus takes place via nuclear pores. For some time, detailed research has been conducted into how these pores embedded in the nuclear envelope are structured. Now, for the first time, biochemists from the University of Zurich have succeeded in elucidating the structure of the transportation channel inside the nuclear pores in high resolution using high-performance electron microscopes.

Public Release: 25-Jun-2015 Nucleic Acids ResearchCancer and vampires: An evolutionary approach
A Hebrew University of Jerusalem scientist has developed a new Internet tool that will allow any investigator, physician or patient to analyze genes according to their evolutionary profile and find associated genes. The tool combines genomics and informatics to enables the rapid, cost-free identification of genes responsible for diseases, by inputting results from genetic mapping studies concerning suspected genes, and identifying connections to known genes with association to diseases.
Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Public Release: 25-Jun-2015 PLOS Computational BiologyComputer simulation predicts development, progress of pressure sores
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have devised a computational model that could enhance understanding, diagnosis and treatment of pressure ulcers related to spinal cord injury. In a report published online in PLOS Computational Biology, the team also described results of virtual clinical trials that showed that for effective treatment of the lesions, anti-inflammatory measures had to be applied well before the earliest clinical signs of ulcer formation.
US Department of Education, NIH/National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, IBM Shared University Research Award

Public Release: 24-Jun-2015Single-cell technologies advance the value of genomics
Biologists are looking to extract as much information as possible from small amounts of valuable biological material, and to understand biological responses at higher levels of resolution. The Genome Analysis Centre has been working to reduce the input requirements for DNA and RNA sequencing projects down to the single-cell level by introducing the Fluidigm C1 single-cell system, FACs-in-a-petri CellSorter and the Labcyte Echo microscopic liquid handler.